L.J. Kalawaia is the latest college baseball player from Hawaii to make a name for himself a long way from home.

The senior at UNC Greensboro is putting together a memorable season that could get his name called in this summer’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The 2011 Saint Louis alumnus, who redshirted last season with a torn tendon in his chest, is hitting .408 over 44 games with eight doubles, five triples and five home runs for the Spartans, who are 33-13 overall and 11-3 in the Southern Conference.

UNCG is ranked 53 in the latest RPI and as of April 27 was projected to be in the NCAA tournament field of 64 by Baseball America.

“Usually we’re maybe in the middle of the conference, but this year is the uprising of UNCG baseball,” Kalawaia said.

His baseball career began on Maui, where he grew up and played three years for Lahainaluna.

In the summer before his senior season, he played in a wood-bat tournament over the summer with former University of Hawaii outfielder Kaeo Aliviado, who was still at Saint Louis.

Aliviado told him the Crusaders needed a second baseman and Kalawaia decided to move to Oahu for his senior year.

“(Kaeo) is one of the main reasons I went to Saint Louis in the first place,” Kalawaia said.

Unlike Aliviado, who was a four-year starter for the Rainbows, Kalawaia had to go the junior-college route and played two seasons at Ohlone College in California.

He moved to the outfield and was first team all-conference his second year, hitting .322 with nine doubles and 11 stolen bases.

It was good enough to get picked up by UNCG even though he admitted he didn’t know much about Greensboro.

“It’s kind of in the middle of living in Hawaii and living in California, but I love it out here,” Kalawaia said. “The competition out here is really good, but after playing in Hawaii and playing in California and coming out here, I just want the boys from Hawaii to know that you can play with the guys up here.”

The junior-college route has allowed quite a few players from Hawaii in recent years to end up with Division I opportunities a long way from home.

Three years ago, Waianae alum Ben McQuown ended up at Campbell University after going to a junior college and was selected in the MLB Draft.

Last summer, Ka’ai Tom, who played with Kalawaia at Saint Louis, was a fifth-round selection out of Kentucky, where he played two seasons after attending Fort Scott Community College.

Currently, Arkansas senior Rick Nomura is a starting middle infielder for the Razorbacks, who advanced to the College World Series last season. Nomura attended Alvin Community College in Texas after graduating from Punahou.

Kalawaia hopes to get drafted like McQuown and Tom but is more focused on getting to where Nomura was last season — playing in Omaha, Neb., in June.

Kalawaia wouldn’t have had the opportunity to potentially play in a regional if it weren’t for the injury he suffered during a weight-training session that gave him another year of eligibility.

“(The injury) was hard for me because it was my senior year and I would have to call my mom and she would calm me down, but it really has been a blessing in disguise so far,” Kalawaia said. “It’s turned out well up to this point and I’m grateful for that, but I’m still just focused on trying to win the conference and hopefully make it (to a regional).”

The Spartans, who are in first place in the Southern Conference, play seven of their final 10 games away from home but end the season with a series against second-place Mercer in Greensboro.

UNCG hasn’t advanced to the NCAA tournament since 1997.